581 research outputs found
Relativistic Kinetics of Phonon Gas in Superfluids
The relativistic kinetic theory of the phonon gas in superfluids is
developed. The technique of the derivation of macroscopic balance equations
from microscopic equations of motion for individual particles is applied to an
ensemble of quasi-particles. The necessary expressions are constructed in terms
of a Hamilton function of a (quasi-)particle. A phonon contribution into
superfluid dynamic parameters is obtained from energy-momentum balance
equations for the phonon gas together with the conservation law for superfluids
as a whole. Relations between dynamic flows being in agreement with results of
relativistic hydrodynamic consideration are found. Based on the kinetic
approach a problem of relativistic variation of the speed of sound under phonon
influence at low temperature is solved.Comment: 23 pages, Revtex fil
On the Status of Highly Entropic Objects
It has been proposed that the entropy of any object must satisfy fundamental
(holographic or Bekenstein) bounds set by the object's size and perhaps its
energy. However, most discussions of these bounds have ignored the possibility
that objects violating the putative bounds could themselves become important
components of Hawking radiation. We show that this possibility cannot a priori
be neglected in existing derivations of the bounds. Thus this effect could
potentially invalidate these derivations; but it might also lead to
observational evidence for the bounds themselves.Comment: 6 pages, RevTex, a few editorial change
The GEMS Approach to Stationary Motions in the Spherically Symmetric Spacetimes
We generalize the work of Deser and Levin on the unified description of
Hawking radiation and Unruh effect to general stationary motions in spherically
symmetric black holes. We have also matched the chemical potential term of the
thermal spectrum of the two sides for uncharged black holes.Comment: Latex file, 12 pages, no figure; v2: typos fixed; v3: minor
corrections, final version published in JHE
Quantum Vacuum Instability Near Rotating Stars
We discuss the Starobinskii-Unruh process for the Kerr black hole. We show
how this effect is related to the theory of squeezed states. We then consider a
simple model for a highly relativistic rotating star and show that the
Starobinskii-Unruh effect is absent.Comment: 17 Pages, (accepted by PRD), (previously incorrect header files have
been corrected
Entropy of Lovelock Black Holes
A general formula for the entropy of stationary black holes in Lovelock
gravity theories is obtained by integrating the first law of black hole
mechanics, which is derived by Hamiltonian methods. The entropy is not simply
one quarter of the surface area of the horizon, but also includes a sum of
intrinsic curvature invariants integrated over a cross section of the horizon.Comment: 15 pages, plain Latex, NSF-ITP-93-4
Principles for characterizing the potential human health effects from exposure to nanomaterials: elements of a screening strategy
The rapid proliferation of many different engineered nanomaterials (defined as materials designed and produced to have structural features with at least one dimension of 100 nanometers or less) presents a dilemma to regulators regarding hazard identification. The International Life Sciences Institute Research Foundation/Risk Science Institute convened an expert working group to develop a screening strategy for the hazard identification of engineered nanomaterials. The working group report presents the elements of a screening strategy rather than a detailed testing protocol. Based on an evaluation of the limited data currently available, the report presents a broad data gathering strategy applicable to this early stage in the development of a risk assessment process for nanomaterials. Oral, dermal, inhalation, and injection routes of exposure are included recognizing that, depending on use patterns, exposure to nanomaterials may occur by any of these routes. The three key elements of the toxicity screening strategy are: Physicochemical Characteristics, In Vitro Assays (cellular and non-cellular), and In Vivo Assays. There is a strong likelihood that biological activity of nanoparticles will depend on physicochemical parameters not routinely considered in toxicity screening studies. Physicochemical properties that may be important in understanding the toxic effects of test materials include particle size and size distribution, agglomeration state, shape, crystal structure, chemical composition, surface area, surface chemistry, surface charge, and porosity. In vitro techniques allow specific biological and mechanistic pathways to be isolated and tested under controlled conditions, in ways that are not feasible in in vivo tests. Tests are suggested for portal-of-entry toxicity for lungs, skin, and the mucosal membranes, and target organ toxicity for endothelium, blood, spleen, liver, nervous system, heart, and kidney. Non-cellular assessment of nanoparticle durability, protein interactions, complement activation, and pro-oxidant activity is also considered. Tier 1 in vivo assays are proposed for pulmonary, oral, skin and injection exposures, and Tier 2 evaluations for pulmonary exposures are also proposed. Tier 1 evaluations include markers of inflammation, oxidant stress, and cell proliferation in portal-of-entry and selected remote organs and tissues. Tier 2 evaluations for pulmonary exposures could include deposition, translocation, and toxicokinetics and biopersistence studies; effects of multiple exposures; potential effects on the reproductive system, placenta, and fetus; alternative animal models; and mechanistic studies
Relativistic superfluid models for rotating neutron stars
This article starts by providing an introductory overview of the theoretical
mechanics of rotating neutron stars as developped to account for the frequency
variations, and particularly the discontinuous glitches, observed in pulsars.
The theory suggests, and the observations seem to confirm, that an essential
role is played by the interaction between the solid crust and inner layers
whose superfluid nature allows them to rotate independently. However many
significant details remain to be clarified, even in much studied cases such as
the Crab and Vela. The second part of this article is more technical,
concentrating on just one of the many physical aspects that needs further
development, namely the provision of a satisfactorily relativistic (local but
not microscopic) treatment of the effects of the neutron superfluidity that is
involved.Comment: 42 pages LateX. Contribution to Physics of Neutron Star Interiors,
ed. D. Blasche, N.K. Glendenning, A. Sedrakian (ECT workshop, Trento, June
2000
Wavy Strings: Black or Bright?
Recent developments in string theory have brought forth a considerable
interest in time-dependent hair on extended objects. This novel new hair is
typically characterized by a wave profile along the horizon and angular
momentum quantum numbers in the transverse space. In this work, we
present an extensive treatment of such oscillating black objects, focusing on
their geometric properties. We first give a theorem of purely geometric nature,
stating that such wavy hair cannot be detected by any scalar invariant built
out of the curvature and/or matter fields. However, we show that the tidal
forces detected by an infalling observer diverge at the `horizon' of a black
string superposed with a vibration in any mode with . The same
argument applied to longitudinal () waves detects only finite tidal
forces. We also provide an example with a manifestly smooth metric, proving
that at least a certain class of these longitudinal waves have regular
horizons.Comment: 45 pages, latex, no figure
Measurement of the partial widths of the Z into up- and down-type quarks
Using the entire OPAL LEP1 on-peak Z hadronic decay sample, Z -> qbarq gamma
decays were selected by tagging hadronic final states with isolated photon
candidates in the electromagnetic calorimeter. Combining the measured rates of
Z -> qbarq gamma decays with the total rate of hadronic Z decays permits the
simultaneous determination of the widths of the Z into up- and down-type
quarks. The values obtained, with total errors, were Gamma u = 300 ^{+19}_{-18}
MeV and Gamma d = 381 ^{+12}_{-12} MeV. The results are in good agreement with
the Standard Model expectation.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts.
Search for R-Parity Violating Decays of Scalar Fermions at LEP
A search for pair-produced scalar fermions under the assumption that R-parity
is not conserved has been performed using data collected with the OPAL detector
at LEP. The data samples analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of
about 610 pb-1 collected at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) 189-209 GeV. An
important consequence of R-parity violation is that the lightest supersymmetric
particle is expected to be unstable. Searches of R-parity violating decays of
charged sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks have been performed under the
assumptions that the lightest supersymmetric particle decays promptly and that
only one of the R-parity violating couplings is dominant for each of the decay
modes considered. Such processes would yield final states consisting of
leptons, jets, or both with or without missing energy. No significant
single-like excess of events has been observed with respect to the Standard
Model expectations. Limits on the production cross- section of scalar fermions
in R-parity violating scenarios are obtained. Constraints on the supersymmetric
particle masses are also presented in an R-parity violating framework analogous
to the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.Comment: 51 pages, 24 figures, Submitted to Eur. Phys. J.
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